Since coming back from SG, my weekly grocery shopping list has consistently looked like this:
- vine ripened Amoroso® Petite Truss tomatoes
- pre-packed washed and ready to eat Baby Mesclun mixed leaves salad that consists of baby spinach, baby rocket, baby tatsoi, baby mizuna, red coral, red oak, green oak, green coral, red chard leaves
- avocados
- sweet baby cucumbers
- broccoli
- cup mushrooms
- eggs
- shaved chicken ham
- salami
- butternut pumpkin
- packets of mixed dried fruit and nuts
- fetta cheese
- various types of salad dressing
- and the occasional pack of roasted chicken breast
And I've been mixing and matching the above listed ingredients (bearing in mind the body's requirement for a balanced diet consisting of proteins, vitamins, minerals and fibre) to create various types of homemade salads for weeknight dinners.
These are just two of my many concoctions. They are really easy and quick to prepare, make a very refreshing and appetising meal after a long exhausting day at work, light on the stomach thus avoiding problems of indigestion associated with eating late night dinners just before sleeptime, and are really friendly to the waistline.
Never quite a fan of green leafy vegetables, I have forced myself to observe this regime purely for health reasons. Initially, for the first day or two, I gagged a bit on the leaves and constantly wrinkled my nose picking through them; those other colourful and meaty bits added to the salad bowl helped to disguise the weird bitter-ish taste of chlorophyll. Surprisingly, I now find myself developing a liking for these green stuff and actually have the occasional craving to have them for lunch as well.
I am hoping this new diet will help shave ten years off my ageing soon-to-approach-the-30s skin/face/body by the time I go back home for the next CNY.
homemade salad dinners
i'm lightning...
... for now and possibly the next few weeks or months, before taking on Snake's role in Guns of the Patriots next.
venturing into china
I scooted off to Shanghai for three days for a work conference towards the tail-end of my trip back to Singapore. It was my second visit to this largest city in China; the first was also a work trip about six years ago.
I wasn't impressed on both visits. The air was so polluted my eyes, throat and lungs reacted almost instantaneously the moment the aircraft landed at Pudong International Airport. I seem to recall that it wasn't as bad in 2004. In fact the smog was so bad this time round that I didn't see the sky or sun the entire time I was there. It didn't help that the weather was cold and dreary even though winter had supposedly ended.
I was, however, pleasantly delighted by the hotel room - The Longemont Shanghai, particularly the oversized bathtub set right in the middle of the room with a totally open bathroom. In my two nights there, I would watch the news while taking a hot shower in the cylindrical glass cube before settling into a luxurious hot bath reading a book. And there were four elongated soft pillows and four smaller sized cushions on the king-sized bed! Oh my! I felt really pampered. To top it all up, I indulged in a 90-minute private spa massage in the room on the last night to relieve the tension built up in the previous days.
Left: one minute it was empty...
Right: and full of foamy bubbles the other.
The king-sized bed in a room on the 42nd floor which would have offered a fantastic view if the air wasn't as polluted.
We were the Official International Partner for the Aviation Education and Training Summit. Besides sponsoring the executive luncheon and having an exhibition booth to manage, we had a key note address and presentation to deliver, endless private meetings lined up and corporate dinners to attend. We also had a last minute drama to sort out on the last day which almost caused me to miss my return flight to SG. All in all, it was a hectic and very exhausting work trip. It was probably 3x worse for my other travelling companions who had to extend their trip to detour to Szechuan for an adhoc meeting with just an hour's notice.
Well, no work, no gain. On the whole, it was pretty good exposure for our Pilot Academy.
Stage set-up.
Our fancily dressed up exhibition booth; I said fancy because we didn't go with the standard booth provided but instead lugged a 30+kg mobile booth display unit all the way from SG for the set-up. The two aircraft models on display attracted quite a bit of attention. Many actually came up to ask if they were being offered as free gifts. Duh.
Left: networking in speed dating style. I like the ceiling design and the golden chair drapes.
Right: Luncheon set-up.
The VIP table for us the luncheon hosts.
We just had to place a small aircraft model there. There was a little drama with the hotel staff afterwards where they threw the aircraft model away when clearing the tables because 'no one took it away'. It didn't occur to them to return it to the organisers who would have quickly identified the owner.
Left: I ordered a Tsingtao beer at one of the corporate dinners. Have never seen this packaging before. Have you?
Right: The ten course menu for the luncheon.
Shanghai again anytime soon? Maybe not. Would prefer to visit the other less developed parts of China if possible, before they all become another smog-ridden city.
first visit to haji lane
I went to Haji Lane and Arab St for the first time when I was back in SG this Feb. I have never ventured outside of the air-conditioned malls or complexes in the vicinity, hence never had the chance to discover the old world charm of these streets and back alleys. If not for the extreme humidity, I may have stayed a lot longer and explored every single nook in the area. Many have raved about the eclectic mix of fashion boutiques that have sprouted in weird, hard to find corners of this area but I didn't find anything exceptionally alluring that I wouldn't be able to purchase on the web or elsewhere. However, I would really like to visit again if possible, to do a real photowalk and take perhaps another thousand photos.
Here are some of my personal favourites taken that day. It's strange that most of the outdoor photos I take in SG somehow don't look as good as the ones I take in OZ. I think lighting is one of the main factors - all the skyscrapers in small SG block too much natural light and throw unnecessary shadows everywhere, and the lack of open space / land / sky just makes most shots look overly cluttered with too much cramped into one small frame that I get confused as to the focus of my shots. I tried my hand at variations in sepia tones for the first time for some of the pics below. I think it helps to simplify the photos, reduce distractions like too many colours that clash or unwanted details and to enhance the feelings of old-fashioned picturesqueness (I went to google and wow there really is such a word!).
Click on each photo to view enlarged version.
Left: This scene reminds me of the show 甜蜜蜜.
Right: I haven't seen such a traditional goldsmith shop since I was a kid.
Left: Giant Mentos! Apparently Hup Seng is the sole distributor for Mentos in SG. Never knew that.
Right: Empty street. I think this is one end of Haji Lane.
Left: Love these colourful Turkish glass/lamp ware that was found every corner I turned.
Right: Fancy some Ali Baba pants? I also found an Aladdin's shop at a junction.
Another altogether different sight as I rounded a corner from Arab St onto Beach Road. 
Left: Why is there a need for barbed wire on this quiet back alley?
Right: Divine pleasures... hmmm...
Left: Saw lots of cool graffiti at several spots. I wonder how long they would last before they get painted over.
Right: Painting over graffiti...
By the way, have I mentioned that I left my dSLR with all its lenses and another vintage film SLR (gift from a friend) in SG? I really miss my camera and am upset that I can't go for therapeutic photowalks until I somehow find a way to get them delivered to me in Sydney intact.
spending time in the new orchard
I spent a fair bit of time exploring the new malls in Orchard this trip back home, namely Ion, Orchard Central and 313.
I was wowed by 1) the crowd 2) the fancily decorated restaurants 3) the super high ceilings with humongous fans (I like!) when I first stepped into 313. But a quick tour round the entire mall revealed no particularly interesting shop that I would purchase stuff from. Sure, there is a 16,000 sq ft four storey high flagship Forever21 store there but nothing in it caught my eye.
Lambchop and I ooh-ed and aah-ed at the vintage Vespa parked under a lamp-post right at the entrance to Trattoria, an Italian restaurant strategically located at the main thoroughfare from the train station. That (the Vespa) made our decision on dinner venue for us while we awaited Tudi's arrival. The service staff were atrocious, food was average and overpriced - Lambchop's lasagne bolognese looked like it came straight out of an instant meal pack that got heated up in a microwave and was totally bland. Don't think we'll go back again. Ever.
We took a table at the 'outside seating' section of the restaurant. I find it a bit funny that they try to simulate an alfresco dining setting when strictly speaking, this is still indoor as it's still enclosed within the air-conditioned mall. It's basically an exchange of warm cosy dining for spacious openness. You would think that you'd get more privacy but no, the tables are set equally close to one another such that you still get to hear all the conversations of your neighbours.
Left: See the high ceiling and ultra humongous fan I was talking about?
Right: At a Chinese restaurant in Orchard Central. My shopping buddy Mr P who specialises in Interior Design Architecture told me the theory behind the ancient royalty/upper class families having chairs with such high backs extending way above your head - to guard against assassins trying to slice off your head from behind. Cool.
We then had coffee at a cafe that serves exhorbitantly priced Jamaican or Kenyan Blue or whatever mountain blend coffee.
Left: Pretty server pouring the special coffee for the two ladies.
Right: Only Lambchop chose a cold drink.
NG after NG!!!
Finally some decent shots.
Left: Tudi savouring her aromatic coffee. Actually, we find the coffee so-so.
Right: Slurrrrrrpzzzzz.
On another occasion, Lambchop took half a day off work to go gai-gai with me. We spent most of the time eating! The food hall in Ion has a lot of stalls that sell an interesting variety of foods like Mantou (chinese steamed bread dough) burgers, fast-food Peking duck rolls and suckling pig, weird Taiwanese and Japanese snacks etc.
Saw a cute miniature bike on displaying at Crumpler's shop front.
It's called a Monkey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *loves*
We shared a box of peking duck rolls. Not fantastic. Skin wasn't crispy enough. But can't really complain as you're paying fast-food prices as compared to restaurant prices. Didn't try the suckling pig crepes though.
Our peking duck going through the production chain.
Kueh TuTu!!!!!!!!! We bought a box of mixed peanut and coconut TuTus and had to fight over the coconut ones. Yums.
Because Lambchop got hooked on the TWG Morrocan Mint tea his friend recommended on our previous meet-up at winebar and restaurant Que Pasar at Emerald Hill, we went to the flagship TWG outlet and cafe in Ion for a proper tea session.
There are at least a few hundred selections of tea on the menu. I had the Emperor's White Garden Tea and Lambchop got to satisfy his craving for Morrocan Mint Tea.
Left: Lambchop trying out his newly acquired (from Edit in Ion) very cool Ah Pek glasses with matt black lens rims and leather sides. He thinks he looks ugly but I think he looks cute in those. If he doesn't want them, I'm going to snatch the pair from him.
Right: Our pots of tea! Colour coded black and white for easy differentiation.
Left: We tried to dismantle the teapot and discovered an extremely normal porcelain pot underneath the highly insulated jacket. The tea is kept warm for a very long time while we yakked for hours.
Right: It seems like I was looking up at a starry ceiling in this shot.
I wonder which new malls will spring up to welcome me back for my next visit? I didn't have a chance to explore the newly opened IR at Sentosa but will definitely do that next year.
monkey fairy
The tomboy monkey has blossomed into a feminine (and vain) young lady with fairy wings!
Check out her transformation over the years from 2006 to 2009 and compare the her then with the her now in 2010. She's really getting prettier and smarter by the day. I can see myself in her (that's like indirectly paying myself huge compliments LOL). I just hope she doesn't turn out to be like one of those skanky, detestable, anorexic, spoilt brats with an appalling sense of fashion that we now so often see walking the streets of SG.
One more photo to show you how beautiful she is. She's got perfect double eyelids with long curly eyelashes. I bet she'll be a super heartbreaker in future. The only thing she probably needs to work on is to pray hard for a set of neater teeth to replace those unbelievably crooked baby teeth!
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